Canberra, Aug 14 (IANS): Australian researchers have developed a new method for treating deadly diseases caused by parasites that is up to 25 times more effective than current techniques.

Developed by a team from the Australian National University (ANU), the method exploits a parasite's need for cholesterol to survive by attaching cholesterol to existing drugs to smuggle them into the parasite's system where they can exert their killing effect.

According to the researchers, the trojan horse method could lead to more effective and longer-lasting treatments for deadly diseases caused by parasites, including malaria.

Alex Maier, lead researcher on the project from the ANU Research School of Biology, said that the method is three to 25 times more effective at eliminating parasites compared to drugs that are not attached to cholesterol.

He said that the technique addresses the long-standing issue of malaria parasites finding ways to adapt and build resistance to therapies.

"Existing drugs used to treat malaria are taken up passively by the parasite, meaning they're not as effective as they could be," Maier said in a media release on Wednesday.

"By attaching the drugs to cholesterol, the parasite actively latches onto and eats the cholesterol. This allows us to smuggle drugs into optimal killing zones inside the parasite where the drugs can inflict the most damage," the release added, according to Xinhua news agency.

Using the new method, he said that existing malaria drugs that have become redundant could be repurposed and that it could lead to the development of more efficient malaria drugs that are cheaper to manufacture.

According to the researchers, the technique could also be used to treat other human parasitic diseases including leishmaniasis, a skin, mouth, nose and throat disease that can be fatal, and the intestinal disease giardia as well as parasitic diseases in pets and livestock, potentially preventing billions of dollars in damages.